Distributed Campus Update
BW/F Increasing Capacity for Surgery
Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals are seeing significant growth in surgical capacity beginning this summer with the completion of a new surgical suite at Faulkner Hospital and continuing next year with the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at BWH.
Faulkner Hospital's new, $10 million surgery suite with four minimally invasive operating rooms on the newly constructed sixth floor features all the amenities of modern design and state-of-the-art technology. Totally self-contained, the new suite will have four pre-op holding beds and eight PACU beds, as well as a family waiting area, pathology room and other support space. FH anticipates receiving a certificate of occupancy for the new suite in June and beginning surgery cases in August.
At BWH, the Shapiro Center will bring online an eventual net gain of five additional ORs. To keep pace with this growth, the existing PACU will be expanded to include additional pre- and post-operative beds. The Shapiro Center construction schedule remains on target for an April 2008 opening, ultimately boosting BWH's surgical capacity by increasing the number of ORs at the main campus from 39 to 44. And at FH, the four new ORs come in addition to a 12-OR suite.
"With 60 ORs between Brigham and Faulkner hospitals, we will offer our patients increased access to the most advanced surgical technologies and world-renowned staff at both our main and Faulkner campusus," said Michael Zinner, MD, chief of Surgery at BWH.
In addition to improving service and increasing access for patients, the new FH surgery suites were designed to bring efficiencies to BW/F surgeons. "We looked at this programmatically," Susan Dempsey, FH vice president of Clinical Services, said. "We wanted to make it convenient and efficient for the surgeons to go back and forth between the two hospitals."
For example, orthopedic surgeons are seeing robust growth at both campuses. Faulkner currently offers a wide range of orthopedic specialties, including foot and ankle, hand and upper extremity, sports medicine and joint arthroscopy. In fact, Faulkner's orthopedic surgical caseload has increased significantly to a total of nearly 3,400 ambulatory and inpatient procedures last year alone.
The new suite includes minimally invasive, high-definition capacity that can provide advanced video conferencing, Web casting and enhanced transmission of imaging to referring physicians. The hospital is also investing in an advanced computer-guided navigation system to assist surgeons during specialized orthopedic procedures, like knee replacements.
"This investment is testament to our commitment to delivering the right care in the right place," said Pardon Kenney, MD, chief of Surgery at FH.